Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a clear threat to Greece a few hours after the incident between Turkish patrol boats and the Greek coastguard near the Imia islets.

"The Greek government has repeatedly said that it will resolutely defend the sovereign rights of the country," government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said on Tuesday, commenting on the collision between a Turkish patrol boat and Greek coast guard vessel near the Imia islets.

The Turkish Air-force violated Greek national airspace over the Aegean Sea a total of 36 times on Thursday. The Turkish aircraft – two F-16 fighter jets flying in formation, and two CN-235 reconnaissance planes and a helicopter – also committed four air traffic law violations of the Athens FIR.